Another power transmission tower collapses in Nagaland due to theft

DIMAPUR — For the second time in April, a critical transmission tower in Nagaland has been sabotaged, raising concerns about potential widespread power outages.

The latest incident, occurring in the early hours of April 27, saw the collapse of a critical transmission tower of the 132 kV single circuit Wokha – Sanis Transmission Line near Riphyim Old area under Wokha district.

During inspection by the department along with district administration, it was discovered that the tack welded nuts and bolts of the tower members were cut and removed resulting in the collapse of the tower, the office of the Chief Engineer (Transmission and Generation) informed in a press release on Sunday.

“This indicates a clear intention to steal the tower parts leading to disruption in the power supply by miscreants. It was also found that the adjacent towers (Tower numbers 15 and 17) are on the verge of collapse as the bracings of the towers have been stolen,” it said.

With the collapse of the tower, the department cautioned that in the event of any line fault or power outages on the 132 kV Transmission line between Dimapur – Kohima – Karong (Manipur), the capital Kohima along with the whole of Kohima and Tseminyu districts as well as the upper range of Wokha district including Wokha town will plunge into total blackout.

Furthermore, power supply would be adversely affected in the upper range of Wokha district and Tseminyu district in case of any breakdowns or outages between Kohima – Wokha Transmission line, it said.

According to the department, this is not the first time that this vital transmission line has been targeted, as the line, which was constructed for evacuating power from the Doyang Hydroelectric Project, could not be commissioned for many years due to theft of materials and damage of several towers at various locations between Wokha and Doyang. It was only in 2016 that the department with great hardship, difficulty and struggle, restored the line, incurring huge expenditure by state government in the process.

Further, the department also pointed out that this is the second such incident this month as on April 20, the 66 kV Double Circuit Transmission Line Tower collapsed near Pungro town due to theft of tower parts, disrupting the evacuation of power from Likhimro Hydro Electric Project.

“While the department officers and staff were working on a war footing to restore the collapse of the first tower, this incident have put the department in a very critical situation,” it said, expressing dismay over the act of sabotage to public property.

Stating that an FIR has already been lodged with the police, the department appealed to all the concerned village councils, civil society organisations, and stakeholders to cooperate and assist the law enforcing agencies to book the culprits at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the department is putting in all efforts to restore the line at the earliest, it added.